China

Hong Kong, Macau, Wulong, Beijing

China and the Far East

Hong Kong

My first time in Asia began in Hong Kong. A concrete jungle with high end American shopping and strange and exotic tastes.It seemed I had flown 14 hours to be back in in America. Hong Kong is an intimidating place with confusing streets and lots of people. Getting around is rather easy on the subway system called the MTR but if you are traveling by taxi have your concierge write down the name in Cantonese so you don't get lost. Hong Kong is also right across the water from Macau which is home to a UNESCO site featuring many temples and historic Portuguese buildings from the long ago Portuguese rule. WALK- Some of my favorite things to do in Hong Kong are walk around in SOHO HIKE- Leave the city and go for a hike, there are several great hikes right outside the city Dragons Back is one of the best and spits you out right on the beach. PRAY- The Big Buddha has a beautiful hike of about 4 miles on man made stairs, across wooden bridges and under the cable car line. If you are athletic and have the time this is a great alternative to the cable car and you can always take it down. You also get to see monks practicing and can burn incense in prayer at its base. TEA- Visit one of the many high end hotels for High tea and tiers of delightful treats. TRAIN- Take the MTR; its much easier, cheaper and sometimes faster than taking a taxi as well as eco-friendly. Hong Kong has more escalators, above ground walkways and underground subways and tunnels than anywhere I have ever been. It is one of the only places in the world where you could literally not touch your feet to the grounds for days. SMOG- The Smog in HK is bad. Prepare for your eyes to hurt and to feel drained more quickly if you are outside for a lot of the day. Taking that into consideration try to take as few diesel taxis as you can (which is basically all of them. )

Macau

Take the Hydrofoil from Hong Kong (range of $30-500 Us depending on vessel)to Macau and visit the World Heritage Site as well as neighboring Coloane and Taipa for Portuguese food, temples and Pandas.Here you can find some great food, tangible culture and charming streets.The Macau Panda Pavilion is located in Coloane, it is home to two Pandas and a few other animals mostly in small cages, save for the Pandas. Sad since the property is expansive and could hold huge enclosures but I do not see animal welfare high on the list of importance's in Asia, especially one not raking in tourist dollars.

The Great Wall Of China

The Great Wall of China stretches more than 5500 miles and through 11 provinces of China. It is a true testament to human architecture and culture. The Wall was originally built to keep out the Huns and for hundreds of years it was expanded and repaired, rulers often burying the dead workers in the wall to save time as work continued. My visit to the wall began at Mutianyu, a few hours drive from Beijing and on a very polluted smog filled day. Mutianyu has a cable car that brings you up to the wall or one can opt to hike up under the cable car trail to the entrance of this section.Badaling is the most popular and closest section of the wall to Beijing if you visit here be prepared for hordes of tourists.​ The Wall was listed as a UNESCO site in 1987 unfortunately much of the wall had already been destroyed before it came under protection. The wall is a series of sections built by multiple rulers over the years beginning in the third century and ending with the Ming dynasty that ended in 1644. Engineers during the Ming dynasty are who we can thank for its longevity. They mixed sticky rice into the mortars of the wall which not only became a very strong adhesive but kept plants from growing through the wall and destroying it.Future Outlook Most of the wall is not seen by tourists and because of its sheer size, regulations to protect it have been very difficult to enforce. The Chinese government has put money and time into keeping the tourist areas up kept but the remaining thousands of miles of the wall have fallen derelict.

Beijing & The Forbidden City

The pollution in China has become increasingly worse over the last few years and there were only two days of my two weeks here that I saw the sun. My eyes burned and my anticipation to be outside was severely dampened by the haze filled atmosphere. I did spend some time exploring some of the Olympic village from the 2008 games, the Birds Nest and swimming complex already looking run down and under used. It was sad to see such an expansive and magnificent complex in such poor use. Most of the underground areas built for the games were empty, leaving a vast expanse of empty mall and banquet area. It seems everyplace in China is simply a tourist trap and nothing else. I also spent a day exploring the Forbidden City which was remarkably detailed, crowded and vast.

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